Posts tagged athlete

For over twenty years nowadays numerous Coaches & National Tennis Federations around the world, resolved to produce actors the bare way, with one-mode automaton like baseline tennis. Fortunately 2 actors survived this onslaught & have kept the concern alive in the assist & volley all courtroom game, Pete Sampras & Roger Federer with Andy Roddick in a grey district between these 2 fine players.
photo credit: iDream_in_Infrared

Due to that one dimensional instructing of tennis by coaches & federations,, nowadays everybody that faces Roger has the jitters. They have no replies or solutions for the challenges Roger presents. This has awakened each skilled in the world to speak wonders about the “all courtroom game”! The really same game that 20/30 years agone they themselves almost killed with new rules, heavier balls, larger balls, slower balls etc…and by following certain “tennis gurus” with poor coaching/development exemplars or tennis knowledge. Remember that everybody became their backs on the teachings of a fine Master of the all courtroom training the late Harry Hopman “The Fox”.

Now back to Andy Roddick; all these theoretical Coaching trials at bettering his backhand or his volleys or his returns are purely making him lose confidence…. nowadays everybody is speaking about Andy Roddick producing a more all courtroom game! Amen! Pete Sampras was telling that with his game vogue to all coaches for fifteen years!

With Andy Roddick it would be foolish to tinker with the core of his game at this point of his career. Those stuff (weak parts of his game) will finer themselves as he grows as a professional, practices & gets smarter, eg. undergo & more self-confidence. Nevertheless the weaker parts of his game will all of the time be “weaknesses”.

If you all remember Stefen Edberg had a “poor forehand” & a not so good forehand volley! The same was for Jimmy Connors with his “poor mid-court low forehand” & “weak serve”, or with Guillermo Villas “no serve” & weak volleys, or Michael Chang attempting to get a “Bigger service” all his career & last, Ivan Lendl attempting to cease being a “chicken” or to finer his volleys to acquire Wimbledon (I predict Lendl ought have let Tony Roche volley for him at Wimbledon when needed!…not to acknowledgment the mental debacle in 1989 at Rolland Garros). Yet, these actors became out to be fine champions even although those weaknesses followed & pestered them consistently through their careers.

Then Sergio what is the secret? There is a bare secret:
Top grade actors study to balance or hide their weaknesses the best they might sometimes even with ruses! For example, you problably might not remember an Italian actor phoned Corrado Barazzutti, but the his ploy was to appear like a loser to you, behave like a loser, appear miserable, despondent, get down on himself. He walked with his head slightly down almost inside his stooped shoulders, all in all he was the antithesis of Dr. James E. Loehr (famous sports psychologist), stay positive, I cherish the battle, pumping fists, agressive, mighty battler enitre of adreneline type. But, guy you overlook a bit & Corrado “Mama mia” Barrazutti took you to the cleaners & you were on the next airplane home or to the next tournament. Corrado was a fine rival & athlete. He made it to the respectable career ATP high ranking of 7 in the World with numerous superb wins!

Great actors study to play on their strengths & station their games on their strengths & they acquire the most by NOT deviating from what they do best, whatever that is. That is the secret! Remember Boris “BOOM BOOM!” Becker? Now envision whenever Ion Tiriac or Bobby Brett had stated Boris, “Boris, you have a fine premier assist but, you want to get a practically higher per centum of premier dishes in”…. you get the idea, we would never had gotten to recognize “BOOM BOOM” Becker & he likely would never had won Wimbledon either!
Now to our youthful mate Andy Roddick, coaching & over coaching has taken distant from Andy Rodick what were his greatest tools & what I call his core strengths or weapons:

-The punishing aces (he hits a lot less aces nowadays then 4 or 5 years ago!).

- The risk-taking forcing 2nd maintain (when he premier came onto the scenery his 2nd assist was a weapon, nowadays it is not!). Remember how Pete Sampras used is 2nd assist as a weapon!

- The punishing shots inside the court. Today Andy is playing 80% of his unyielding or protective shots twelve to fifteen feet behind the baseline! He basicly runs for unecessary miles that take distant practically wanted vitality for additional winning matches & for a long tennis season.
photo credit: The Tattered Coat

What does Roddick want to do? Forget about the Coaching & the experts! Go with his instincts, his ability game, his casual strengths:

- Use his largest artilleries at all time, be it huge premier services, huge 2nd dishes or assist & volley occasionally.

- Stop playing fifteen feet behind the baseline! Play 3 to 6 feet from the baseline & get inside the courtroom at each chance he gets & hit the huge forehand WINNERS! Never supply up an inch!

- Go to the net & mixture the approach shots with brief fades or disguised drop-shots & mixture strong volleying with drop-angled-volleys.

- When assailing go 85% of the times up the course use really couple of cross courtroom approaches.

- Never care about the volley, whenever he gets inside the court, he will get bare plenty put distant volleys.

- Return closer to the baseline & darn it, he must get inside the courtroom on those 2nd dishes pound them or go to the net & put many kind of sqeeze on the else folks dishes (chip & bill you name it!).

- From point one get ahold of his adversaries & rattle them with his absolute physical ability & never let go. Like Jimmy Connors use to do with his strokes.

- Take shape of the middle of the tennis courtroom & of the match; mentally, physically & with his shots.

Finally, in the grand slams he has to be capable to do this at all times 3 sets in a row or 5 intercalated whenever he is forced to. He wants to decreasing the total of rounds with long five set matches to 3 sets. He as well has to gain the layer of his self-belief, concentration & general stamina!

Easier stated then done, but I think that the youthful man might do it!